NBN: 4K down, 7 million to go

This week, the National Broadband Network Company (NBN Co) rather foolishly announced that it had achieved 4,000 connections — when its own corporate plan had 35,000 connections by last June. No wonder they got hammered by the press.

But the delays weren't unexpected. Nor do they mean that the whole project is off track. You'll hear NBN chief Mike Quigley explaining that delays in the roll-out doesn't mean that people have been sitting idly by. But the press reaction is just another example of how poorly the concept, the benefits and the approach have been sold to the Australian public.

This week, we look back at some of the NBN-related interviews from last year on Twisted Wire. We examine the two levels of debate; the shallow public debate about whether we should have an NBN at all (after all, it costs so much money), and the industry debate about the role of NBN, scope creep, pricing, product definitions and network design.

You'll hear from:

• CEO of NBN Co, Mike Quigley
• Liberal Senator Mary Jo Fisher
• Advertising freelancer Jane Cairo
• Primus Australia CEO, Tom Mazerski
• Internode CEO, Simon Hackett
• Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull

Next week, we look at the iiNet and Internode merger, and ask how many wholesale customers we expect NBN Co to have. Give us your views in advance by leaving a message on the Twisted Wire feedback line: 02 9304 5198.

Running time: 31 minutes, 35 seconds